Drone Real Estate Photography: 4 tips to getting the shot

Real estate marketing is one of the most challenging tasks for agents and home sellers. Now that it has become more common for buyers to search for properties online, it can be tough to grab buyers’ attention or make a good first impression with the traditional ground-level real estate photography. Thanks to advancement in technology, real estate photographers can now capture stunning aerial photos of homes with the help of drones. Aerial photography captures spectacular views of homes while highlighting the scale and beauty in a way that makes your home sell faster.

In fact, according to MLS statistics, listings that incorporated aerial photos sold 68% faster compared to those that used standard photos. In this post, you’ll learn handy tips on how to shoot stunning real estate photos with your drone.

1. Practice Before Taking Aerial Shots

For your posting to stand out in an overcrowded market place, you’ll need to include striking photos of the entire property captured from above. Aerial shots pose a challenge to many photographers because, at times, it can be hard to figure out the exact height from the housetop that the drone needs to be for it to capture great photos without overexposing the background. To avoid mistakes when taking aerial photographs, try practicing in an open area until you’re well acquainted with your drone. For instance, you can try taking multiple shots while positioning the drone at different heights, then determine the sweet spot for stunning aerial photos.

2. Use a Powerful Drone Camera

It may seem obvious but the type of drone you use can have a huge impact on your photos. For best results, find a drone that sports a 4K resolution camera. Your drone should also have a wide angle lens, optical zoom, and a mechanical shutter or related technology to handle motion and eliminate shutter distortion.

3. Choose the Right Time of the Day

Timing is also very important when taking photos. Here are some tips to help you get perfect shots with your drone:

Shoot top-down photos at noon to avoid casting shadows on the house

When shooting early in the morning or late in the afternoon, watch out for the drone shadow. It can ruin your photos.

For best shots, make maximum use of natural lighting

4. Adjust Your Camera Settings

Top drones from reputable companies such as DJI come with nearly similar camera settings that you can tweak to get better shots. Here are some tips to help you take nice-looking photos:

Shoot your photos in RAW. These file sizes are larger and will give you more flexibility when editing.

Use autofocus. Manual focus can be confusing especially if you’re a beginner.

Also, most brands offer proprietary flying apps that connect to your drone and can simplify a lot of things for you. It’s good to try out these apps as they can help you improve your drone photography skills.

What other tips do you know for enhancing drone real estate photography? Share with us in the comments section below.